parfleche

P3A1R1F4L1E1C3H4E1
UK/ˈpɑːflɛʃ/US/ˈpɑɹflɛʃ/

noun

A form of stiff leather made from rawhide.

OriginCanadian French parflèche ← French par(er) →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounparfleche (countable and uncountable, plural parfleches)

plural parfleches

  1. UScountableuncountableA form of stiff leather made from rawhide.

    The boots had pointed toes like buskins and they had parfleche soles and high tops that were rolled down about the knees and tied.

    1985, Cormac McCarthy, chapter IX, in Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC
  2. UScountableA shield, bag or other item made from this material.

    But who could see, after dark, if he chewed pemmican filched from a parfleche of the Quiet One or crept down to drink from a spring?

    1952, Dorothy M. Johnson, The Unbeliever; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 39

Origin

  1. Frenchflèche“arrow”
  2. Frenchpar(er)“to parry”
  3. Canadian Frenchparflèche
  4. Englishparfleche

From Canadian French parflèche, equivalent to French par(er) (“to parry”) + French flèche (“arrow”).

More words from Canadian French, French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

parfleche. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parfleche

MLA

“parfleche.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parfleche. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parfleche,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parfleche.

Source: parfleche on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.